Homeless Man Saves Female Police Officer

While a small crowd watched a female police officer in San Francisco being choked and beaten by a suspect, a homeless man jumped into action.

Ryan Raso pounced on the suspect and wrestled her to the ground as the larger woman reached for the cop’s gun, KGO reported Friday. “I just did what’s right,” Raso told the station in the segment above.

Police say the officer responded to a call Aug. 26 of someone bounding on top of cars. Raso stepped in when the arrest went bad. The department then spent four days searching for Raso to thank him and said it would help the 35-year-old find shelter if he needed it, according to KGO.

While many readers on SFGate.com’s Facebook page praised Raso’s heroism, one suggested that the police’s offer wasn’t enough: “A shelter doesn’t help people get back on their feet. … [T]hey feed and offer a cot. He needs more help than that.”

The Huffington Post left a message Tuesday at the San Francisco Police Department’s Ingleside Station for an update.

This wasn’t the first time a homeless person intervened after a suspect turned on law enforcement. Last October a former Crip gang leader saved a Dallas police officer who was being pummeled by a suspect said to be high on drugs.